medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Offertorium – 40
During the foot-washing a number of antiphons are sung.
I. The first is from John 13:34
Mandatum novum do vobis: ut diligatis invicem, sicut dilexi vos, dicit
Dominus.
The psalm-verse is 118:1
Beati immaculati in via: qui ambulant in lege Domini.
And the antiphon is immediately repeated. The words of Jesus which form
the Antiphon are of course the ‘Mandatum’, the command in obedience to
which the ceremony is being performed. The psalm has no particular
relevance, and could be sung on any occasion, rather like Pooh’s
Outdoor Hum for Snowy Weather.
II. The second antiphon is from John 13, verses 4, 5 and 15: not an
exact quotation from these verses, but slightly edited and shaped:
Postquam surrexit Dominus a coena, misit aquam in pelvim, et coepit
lavare pedes discipulorum suorum: hoc exemplum reliquit eis.
The psalm-verse is another Outdoor Hum for Snowy Weather, ps. 47:2
Magnus Dominus, et laudabilis nimis: in civitate Dei nostri, in monte
sancto eius.
Again, the Antiphon is immediately repeated.
III. The third antiphon takes the same form as the first two. The
Antiphon itself is from John 13 verse 12, 13 and 15:
Dominus Jesus, postquam coenavit cum discipulis suis, lavit pedes
eorum, et ait illis: Scitis quid fecerim vobis ego Dominus, et
Magister? Exemplum dedi vobis, ut et vos ita faciatis.
The psalm-verse is ps. 84:2
Benedixisti, Domine, terram tuam: avertisti captivitatem Jacob.
Once again, the Antiphon is immediately repeated.
IV. The fourth text takes a different form and is better described as a
Responsory.
The Antiphon, John 13:6, 7 and 8 is sung:
Domine, tu mihi lavas pedes? Respondit Jesus, et dixit ei:
Si non lavero tibi pedes, non habebis partem mecum.
Then is sung the versicle:
Venit ergo ad Simonem Petrum, et dixit ei Petrus.
And the Antiphon is repeated:
Domine, tu mihi lavas pedes? Respondit Jesus, et dixit ei:
Si non lavero tibi pedes, non habebis partem mecum.
Then the versicle:
Quod ego facio, tu nescis modo: scies autem postea.
And the Antiphon is repeated for a third time:
Domine, tu mihi lavas pedes? Respondit Jesus, et dixit ei:
Si non lavero tibi pedes, non habebis partem mecum.
V. The fifth antiphon returns to the form of the first three. It is not
identified in the Missal, but is in fact an edited form of John 13:14
Si ego Dominus, et Magister vester lavi vobis pedes: quanto magis
debetis alter alterius lavare pedes?
The psalm-verse is ps. 48:2
Audite haec omnes gentes: auribus percipite qui habitatis orbem.
And the Antiphon is immediately repeated.
VI. The sixth antiphon, or rather responsory, is based on 1 Corinthians
13:13
Maneant in vobis fides, spes, caritas, tria haec: major autem horum est
caritas.
There is no psalm, but for a versicle a more exact form of the
scripture-verse is sung:
Nunc autem manent fides, spes, caritas, tria haec: major autem horum
est caritas.
And the Antiphon, ‘Maneant in vobis’ (etc.) is immediately repeated.
VII. The next Antiphon is not from the Bible, but is an ecclesiastical
text:
Benedicta sit sancta Trinitas, atque indivisa unitas: confitebimur ei,
quia fecit nobiscum misericordiam suam.
Then the versicle, also ecclesiastical rather than scriptural:
Benedicamus Patrem, et Filium, cum Sancto Spiritu.
Then a psalm verse, ps. 83:2-3
Quam dilecta tabernacula tua, Domine virtutum! concupiscit, et deficit
anima mea in atria Domini.
And the Antiphon, ‘Benedicta sit’ (etc.) is repeated.
VIII. The last antiphon is a hymn derived from the First Letter of St
John, verse 2, 3 and 4. It will be easiest simply to quote it in full:
Ubi caritas, et amor, Deus ibi est.
Congregavit nos in unum Christ amor.
Exultemus, et in ipso jucundemur.
Timeamus, et amemus Deum vivum.
Et ex corde diligamus nos sincero.
Ubi caritas, et amor, Deus ibi est.
Simul ergo cum in unum congregamur:
Ne nos mente dividamur, caveamus.
Cessent jurgia maligna, cessent lites.
Et in medio nostri sit Christus Deus.
Ubi caritas, et amor, Deus ibi est.
Simul quoque cum beatis videamus,
Glorianter vultum tuum, Christe Deus:
Gaudium, quod est immensum, atque probum,
Saecula per infinita saeculorum. Amen.
Raby, ‘Christian Latin Poetry’ says of this hymn:
‘Besides this more or less learned poetry of the court [of
Charlemagne], there must have existed a considerable amount of purley
religious verse, which represented the inspiration of humbler scholars
in the monastic centres. And example of this is proably to be found in
the ‘Hymn of Charity’, which, so Dom Wilmart suggests, was used by the
Benedictines, to be sung at their peculiar ceremony of the weekly
Maundy or washing of feet according to the commandment (mandatum) of
the Saviour. If this beautiful hymn – Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est
– is of Italian origin, it was, at any rate, produced in the Empire of
Charles, and probably during his lifetime . . . the hymn of Charity is
still sung in fragmentary form on Maundy Thursday, and we know that in
the eleventh and twelfth centuries it was in use at Monte Cassino and
elsewhere in Italy.’ (pp. 157-8)
More anon.
___________________________________________________________
How much free photo storage do you get? Store your holiday
snaps for FREE with Yahoo! Photos http://uk.photos.yahoo.com
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|